Method of fishplate connection of railway and like rails



Sept. 7 1926.

R. HARVENGT METHOD OF FISH PLATE CONNECTION OF RAILWAY AND LIKE RAILS Filed March 22, 1924 Patented Sept. 7, 1926.

sameness; can as; BELGIUM- v nri ononrisiii na'rnconn eerion or RAILWAY AND L'IKjE RAILS.

- Application filedMarch 2 2, 192; SerialNo. 701,198.

The present invention relates to a novel. (2): With the two wings at the base oi the method of tishplate-connection of railway I and like rails, andma nly has tor-its ob]ect to ayoidthe, vibrations vlllcllj whe'nthecon- 5 nection ot the rails is affectedaccordi 11g tothe methods at present in-use, occur at the passage otthecar's oven theqointsiot the rails", \litli this object 'in View, according to "the presentinvent on, the fiat; o'rshghtly 1o curved lishpl ates used, heretofore for the connection ot the' rails are replacedjby an improved*iishpl'ate element which envelops not only the web of-tl e'raihbut also the,

base 7 of same, so that the rails are supported -not only at the bulb but also ii'on'i underneath and that the ends of the rails are, at"

' the point of connection-, completely engaged" V and'incased in'the 'fishplateelement, so as to constituteso to speak a solidblock with. the latter, whereby all vibrations are avoid- 7 ed; The said 'iishplate element according to the invention i's nioi'e particularly"charac .terized the "fact'that the inner" faces of the portionsof the said fishplate element. 26] covering the upper face of the two wings of the base of't-he rail are made with'two recesses respectlylytorined1n such a mannerthat thesaidportions ongthe said wings at two points only 01 the latter;preferably" closeto the root of the web of therail.

The portions of the fishplateelement whichjenclose the ba'seofthe rail maycome wings ofthe saidbase.

The invention s, by way oiullustratwn only, shown intl ie accompanyingdrawing} which represents a cross isection' off a rail" with} afishplate-eleinent according to the i11 vention in position. 410

recesses are indicated by g. As may be seen,

these recesses g are formed in .such'a mannerf that the portions of the fishplate-eleinentwhich cover the upper faces of the two WlllgSi of the base m of'the raili'be'ar on the said wings at two points Z) only ofithe latter, the

root oi the web a of the rail;

These recesses render the fishplate-eleinent supple owing to the lever-arms 10 75, so that" contactis thus obtained with three portions;

of tlierail, i. e.:

(1)? With the a l h,

said points being preferably closeto the} the lower 'faces, of" the bulb rail at Z2, and

A lVith the underside of the base of the shape atsuitablecurve it is possible by ap-v plying aisutiiciently strong pressure to cause the recessed portions forming the lever-arms o-pto bend so'that the points of contact 6- are: brought nearer to each others and/to "theweb ofthe' rail, whereby. a considerable I adjustment may be effected, whichis absolutely essential to a good fishplate-connection. i I In order to increase the lever-ar1ns'v0-p adjustment, the width of theupper face of thebase or sole-plate f of the fishplate-eleinent should preferably exceed the width of the 'base of the rail as illustrated, butas stated above the portions of the fishplate" able sh ape; and the inore they' are curved, the l anwill" be the extent of: the adj ustmeatebtainable by tightening the; iishbolts.

3 Besides the aboye indicated adtantage of eliminating the yib'rations occurringat the right against the longitud nal edges of'the passage r the cars over the joints the niethod oi Tfishplate connection according to the invention offers many other essentialad -yantag'es which are derived from the the'inost important will be briefly described hereunder: j i

I ii 'an' ordinary fishplate-connection. comprising two 'fishpla te's," the two: fishplate from 1 the rail "This tendency is entirely avoided with a one-piece "fishplate-element. 'Q)n"th'e othe'r hand, the elasticity oil the fishplafte-connectionaccording to the innentio11=,'w11ie11 is"in part due toithe presence ofthe recesses g, results in the two latenal port-ions or-j 'aws' a exerting a1 1 constant pressure against the 'hea 'ds'fand nuts of; the bolts,

so thatithe said "bolts are firmly locked; with;

risk 7 of their b'econiing jl'oose 'isfa voi ded.

From mere-inspection of the drawing it and consequently the extent of the possible on the fishplate elenient may have any suit type of the fish'plate-elenientg' and of 'whicl'r necessarily have a tendency to move awayout any "washers being: required, and any w readily understood that l the sufficient to remove the fishbolts of a few connections to cause a train to be derailed.

- With the method according to the i'nven tion, on the contrary, the intentional withdrawal of a few fish boltswill be of no consequence, and as it is practically impossible. for one man to remove single handed a fishplate-element according to the invention, any danger due to crimlnal interference such as referred to above will be inexistent.

7 Another advantage consists in the rapidity with which the connections can be made owing to the fact that the holes for receiving the same bolt will necessarily be exactly opposite one another, so that no preliminary adjustment to. cause the holes in the two jaws of the fishplate-element to register ao curately before the bolts can be inserted will be required, hence an important saving of time.

It should be understood thatnot only the-- exact position and the conformationof the points of bear on the wings-of the base of the rail, but also in a general manner the inner and outer shape of the fishplate-element, its

thickness and its length, may be varied as desired according for instance to the typev of the rail and the otherrequirements of each individual case.

Similarly, the number of fish bolts may vary according to circumstances, for instance according to the weight per foot of rail.

The fishp'late-elements may be reinforced or strengthened in any suitable manner, for instance by means of ribs, and at any suitable point; the base or sole-plate of the fishplateelements may for instance be reinforced in its middle at the pointof connection of the rail ends, and the ends may also be reing forced in order better to resist the hammer strokes applied to place the vsaid element in position.

The said fishplate-elements may if considered advisable be thinner at certain portions for instance in order to reduce the weight thereof or to increase the flexibility;

thus, if the thickness is reduced at the recessed portions g, the fiexibility'will be increased so as to allow a greater extent of adjustment by tightening the fishbolts. The 1 fishplate-element may remain unsupported the fishplate-element which have to I bya sleepenbut whereit rests on'a sleeper, the fixing screws used to secure the rail, either directly or indirectly, to the sleepers,

may be placed in any suitable manner. For

instance, the heads of the said screws may eitherbear directly on the fishplate-element or partly on a lug formed integrally thereon and partly on the corresponding Wing of the base of the rail, or still the fishplate-element may becut out in places to enable the heads of the aforesaid screws coming in direct contact with the wings of the base of the-rail or both with the said Wings and with the fishplate-element. I

The method of fishplate-connection according tov the invention may also be employed to prevent longitudinal displacement of the track, it being suflicient for this purpose to secure fishplate-elements according to the invention firmly to a suitable number of the sleepers.

I In the above, reference has been made only to the connection of railway rails, but it is obvious that the fishplate-connection according to the invention may also be applied for connecting the guide-rails of mine shafts, andgenerally speaking in every case wherein the abutting ends of rails have to be connected, the described method of fishplateconnection being applicable whatever the shape of the rails or their ends may be.

The fishplate-elements according to the invention should preferablybe formed in one .piece as illustrated, or in such man-' ner as to behave like a one-piece element.

In order to reduce the weight a suitable portion of the jaws of the fishplate-element may if desiredbe cut out, and the said'e'le-, ment may also if desired be partially sawn through at suitable points in order to obtain increased flexibility and consequently a greater possibility of adjustments to compensate wear and tear.

The. above described method of fishplateconnection is readily applicable for connectin the rails of electric railways, and generadly speaking to any electrified track. It is sufiicient forthis purpose to place the electricv connection in any suitable space of the fishplate-elements, for instance, in the spaces formed'by the hollowed out or recessed portions thereof. The said elements may if desired be formed with spaces or grooves for receiving either the totality of the electric connection or a portion thereof. It is obvious that in view of the rigidity and the fixity of the fishplate-connection acbase portion forming a supporting sole-plate for the underside of the rail and bent over along its longitudinal edges to cover the upper faces of the two wings of the rail base and connected integrally with the lower edges of the aforesaid vertical jaws, such bent over portions covering the upper faces of the two wings of the rail base having their inner face formed with a recess so that each will bear on one of the said Wings at one point only of the latter situated preferably close to the root of the Web of the rail, substantially as described.

2. An improved one-piece fish plate-eleinent having two facing vertical jaws adapted to support the two under ,faces of the bulb and to enclose the web of the rail Without contact with the said Web, and a base portion forming a supporting soleplate for the under side of the rail and bent over along its longitudinal edges to cover the upper faces of the two wings of the rail base and connect integrally with the loweredges of the aforesaid vertical jaws, such bent over portions covering the upper faces of the two wings of the rail base having their inner face formed 'with a recess so that each Will bear on one of the said Wings at one point onlyof the latter situated preferably close to the root of the Web of the rail, the sole-plate of the fish plate-element having a width exceedingthat ol the base of the rail in such a manner as to increase the lever arin formed by the aforesaidrecessed bent over portions.

In testimony'whereof I signed hereunto my name. 7

R. HARVENGT. 

